a favorite

More than a Mega Man

Talking to another parent yesterday and it seems we are among the last two holdouts giving our kids their own devices.

They have devices they can use but they aren't "theirs".

Some have smart phones already (age range 9-11). Many have smart watches.

When I voiced privacy concerns to other parents, I was made to feel like the bad guy for failing to protect my kids. They are the good parents for giving their kids the ability to call for help in case something happens on the way home. I live in the city and I'm pretty much at the furthest corner of our dense district at a whopping 800m from the school.

There's also the old Chinese saying, two actually I'd like to share. "Far away water can't save a near fire", and "close neighbours are better than far away relatives".

So my kids have an emergency on the walk home. What kind of community would I have to live in to feel like they can't scream for help or walk into the corner store for help?

This is all part of the erosion of society. Don't depend on your community. Give a subscription to tech bros to keep your children safe.

Friends, this is f'd. I should not need to depend on tech to guard my kids against a mythical threat when I should have neighbors and friends all around who contribute to the well being of all of us.

If your solution to safety is tech and not community building, your priorities are f'd and you're letting the tech bros eat what's left of your brain.

I hate when I'm made to feel like a bad parent for not caring about my children's safety.

Tech is not the path to child safety.

Activists from Demilitarise Brooklyn Navy Yard chained themselves to a military vehicle outside Crye Precision on Tuesday. The company was targeted for providing uniforms and tactical gear to ICE and Israel.

#USPolitics #FuckICE #StopArmingIsrael #FreePalestine

Do Trans People Have “Stand Your Ground” Rights? Wyoming’s Answer May Be “No.”

Believe it or not, a trans woman who pulled a gun on her assailants, while on the ground, injured, and surrounded by them, who didn't fire a shot or injure anyone, faces two felony charges—aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent—which could carry up to 15 years in prison. Her assailants aren't being charged. And this is in Wyoming, which has a "stand your ground" law that allows everyone else to do exactly what she did.

Video evidence confirms that she was alone, outnumbered, physically assaulted, and left on the ground facing multiple aggressors when she drew her weapon.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/06/trans-people-second-amendment-wyoming-stand-your-ground.html

#transphobia #transrightsarehumanrights #lgbtq #standyourground #Wyoming

The teacher said "In English a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."
A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Hello, world!

We're Wiki Workers United, a global solidarity union for the staff of the Wikimedia Foundation.

This account will share updates on our organizing effort, relevant news/info, and maybe the occasional meme. We promise to keep posting volume reasonably chill.

More info here:

https://wikiworkersunited.org

And we welcome the community to express support here:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Workers_United

#Introduction

#Flotilla #KickThemOut #DeportIsraelis #boycottisrael #FuckTheIDF #freepalesti̇ne #fromtherivertothesea #Gaza #WestBank #Occupied #GermanGenocide #USGenocide #israeliWarCrimes #IsraeliGenocide

#PSA: #Flirting is like playing #Jenga, and a lot of people don't know how to play Jenga either.

If you're not familiar with Jenga, here's my description: Jenga is a *cooperative*, turn-based game, in which you and one or more willing partners attempt to build anticipation until someone gets too flustered and spills the pieces.

The win condition is:"How long can we maintain that state *just* before the tower falls—when everyone is on the edge of their seats, leaning in, wide-eyed and holding their breath?"

The game is played by taking turns poking around for a good piece and then making a move. Each move raises the stakes *just a little bit*. As tension builds, everyone gets more involved in the game, and when the tower finally topples—regardless of who knocked it over—it should be exciting, fun for everyone, and involve positive aftercare; that's what makes people happy they played with you (and want to play another round).

Some mistakes I see people making when they play:

- forcing the game; not everyone wants to play with you—respect that.

- making "big dick" moves to speed the game up; sure, you *can* make an early goblin move that'll destabilize the tower in the hopes of a quick topple, but if your only goal is to spill blocks, it's better if you just play with yourself at home.

- trying to get the other person to lose; there are plenty of sneaky ways to make the other person more likely to knock the tower over—don't use them—folx won't want to play with you.

- dragging out your turn because you're too afraid to "lose"; it's not as bad as you fear, and if you knock the tower down, as long as y'all're having fun playing, there's nothing stopping you from picking right back up and starting another round.

---

Some mistakes I see people making when they flirt (or engage in any social interaction):

- forcing the interaction; not everyone is open to that kind of attention—respect that.

- making "big dick" moves to speed the game up; sure, you can open with a dick pic or a wolf-whistle, but if your goal is to flirt *at* someone, it's better if you just play with yourself at home.

- trying to get the other person to lose; there are plenty of sneaky ways to make the other person more likely to sleep with you—don't use them—that's coercion at best, and quite possibly sexual assault.

- dragging out your turn because you're too afraid to "lose"; it's not as bad as you fear. If you're genuine, and playing because you want the *other* person to have fun, then most folx will be flattered you made that effort, even if they're not interested in playing a full round.

---

"How do I let someone know I want to play with them?"

> Try complimenting them on something they *put effort into*—"Those are amazing earrings!"

"How do I do that without feeling creepy?"

> Smile, say it, and disengage. If they're receptive, they'll engage you.

"How do I know what to say?"

> Most people are pretty interesting, and most people who want to be interacted with will put out bids for interaction, so look for cues. Are they wearing a cool t-shirt? Is their hair dyed? Have they smiled at you more than once (and you're not a customer)?

"Yeah, but really, how do I know what to say?"

> The game is played by taking turns poking around for a good piece and then making a move. Each move raises the stakes *just a little bit*. When they take a turn, they'll often leave an opening just for you. If they don't, they might also be bad a Jenga, or they're not really into playing with you right now.

"Can you give me examples?"

> Sure.

You're in line at a grocery store, and there's a cute person in line next to you, so you wait until *one* of you is leaving the line. "Your hair is amazing; I love that color blue 😊", then you go back to what you were doing. If they want to play, they'll say something like "thanks, I just dyed it! 🩵" and then wait for you to take your turn again; if they don't want to play, they might just say "thanks" and disengage. If it's your turn again, you might respond "did you have it professionally done? I've been meaning to redye mine 😅" Now it's their turn to respond.

Of course your turns will look different, but each one should take a cue from your partner, and also volunteer a possible move for them to make on their turn.

"My games keep fizzling out, how do I keep them lively?"

> Look for their cues, and leave your own cues for them. Co-op games are about helping your teammates so you can all have the most fun, and *anyone* feels awkward when they don't know what they should do on their turn, so don't leave them hanging.

"How do I let someone know I'd like to play again sometime?"

> Tell them. "I really enjoyed talking to you 😊 and I'd like to do it again if you're interested. Can I give you my Mastodon handle?". If they look confused, just say you're a friend of @alice; that'll probably work.

#Dating #Socializing #Anxiety

"On the acceptance of GenAI"
https://smallsheds.garden/blog/2026/on-the-acceptance-of-genai/

Normally I'd be more excited about a moon mission, but I'd vastly prefer if any other nation was doing it. Can't really care about it when the US is bombing civilian bridges in Iran and then bombing the first responders (and as of today, apparently announcing genocide. Not their first time, I guess).

no one will ever know which

If someone says a toot “went viral” in the Fediverse, to you that means it got:

(the above happened because i realized at some point that even though diffie hellman key exchange _uses_ things like "elliptic curves" or "modular arithmetic" to work, you do not need to actually _understand_ those things to understand the basic idea, and I thought that was cool!)

anyway this is what your computer is doing every time you make a HTTPS connection, to figure out what secret key to use to encrypt the connection

how diffie hellman key exchange works

(with as little math as possible)

https://wizardzines.com/comics/how-diffie-hellman-key-exchange-works/

I would like to go a whole year without a bomb paid for by my tax dollars blowing up a hospital or a school or a refugee camp.

#unitedstates #israel #iran #gaza

With 99% member participation, we authorized a strike with 92% support. I’m so proud of the solidarity we have in @propublicaguild. Our work is important enough to fight for a strong contract.
https://www.propublicaguild.org/updates/unionized-staff-at-propublica-vote-to-strike

Jean-Paul Sartre on the freedom of the press (against media monoculture):

'the main mistake people make concerning the freedom of the press is to think that it is a right belonging to journalists. But this is a fallacy. Its a right belonging to the reader of the newspaper. It is the people working in offices, the people working in factories, who have a right to know what's happening, a right to draw their own conclusions'

#media #politics
[Interview with Nina Sutton, Guardian 1973, via FT]

What I'm saying is: unionize. ✊